The Gift
by ThisLadyWrites
Summary: Christmas Fluff. Andy has the perfect present for Sharon. Sharon has the perfect present for Andy. And apparently that's a problem.
1. Chapter 1

**Merry Christmas everyone!**

 **This is a ! fluffy! little Christmas 2-parter :D The story is based on a prompt given to me by my very good friend and fellow #MaryGirl and writer ****MTraverAndujar :D  
**

 **This story is set shortly after Shandy became canon. It's their first Christmas together :D**

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"I'll return it." Andy said as he looked at the object that gave him regular fits of anxiety ever since he had carried it over the threshold.

"You had it custom-made, dad. You can't return it." Nicole couldn't help but be amused by her father's nervous rambling.

"I'll sell it then."

"No you won't. You will give it to her and she'll be over the moon. Trust me, dad. She'll love it."

"I promised her we'd move slowly. This is not slowly!"

"You are not asking her to marry you. You are just giving her a Christmas present. Quite an amazing one if I may add."

"It's too soon for presents like that."

"She is your girlfriend. You've been friends since forever. It's not too early, dad. Relax."

He sighed as he buried his face in both his hands and mumbled "I should have listened to Provenza and just got her a bubble bath or something equally mundane."

Nicole had a hard time to suppress her laughter. "By now you really should have learned that following Provenza's advice is always a ticket to doom. The old guy is divorced seven times for a reason."

"Four times." Andy corrected her before he got up from his recliner to pace some more around the item that was the cause of his turmoil.

"Your gift is perfect, dad. Stop worrying."

"I can't wait for the holidays to be over." He darted a sinister eye at the wooden object and released another sigh which sounded as if he were carrying the entire universe on his shoulders.

He couldn't remember ever having felt this nervous and insecure about a present and the subsequent reaction it would evoke. However, he wasn't entirely surprised about that. After all he had never been in a relationship like this one before. He had never wanted to make it work more, never tried harder, never loved deeper.

His relationship with Sharon had come as a complete surprise to him and yet in hindsight, he realized that he should have seen it coming. Or at least he should have known that he'd fall for her. The first time she had strutted into the murder room in those heels of hers, all arrogantly and bossy, he had known that she was gonna cause him a lot of trouble. And he had been excited about it. Not annoyed, not angry, instead he had been looking forward to arguing with her. And argued they had a lot. About his attitude, his tendency to run into trouble and her appreciation of bureaucracy. Then, when she took over Major Crimes, they had became actual friends and at some point he just hadn't been able to imagine his life without her in it anymore. She had become the point his life revolved around, his anchor, his everything.

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Sharon watched her children with a smile as they made a mess of the kitchen. It always was a pleasure having them home, it was the only Christmas present she needed really: all three of her children under one roof.

It had become somewhat of a tradition for them to bake cookies together on the 24th. It was less about the baked goods and more about spending time together, about doing something as a family. And of course it was also about throwing flour at each other. When the kids started with that Sharon usually sneaked away and watched her babies from the couch, far away from any flour-attacks.

This year she had retreated into the living room earlier than usual, leaving the children to deal with last few cookie sheets.

She had a decision to make and to do that she needed some peace. She could still see and hear the kids from the couch but the distance gave her the perfect amount of space which she needed to think.

A bordeaux envelope was lying on the coffee table in front of her. Andy's name was written on it in neat, black letters. On the inside were two tickets. Plane tickets. She had bought them on a whim which was very unusual for her. She was not a spontaneous person. She always planned things, thought them over, made pro and contra lists. So far it had helped her a great deal in life. As a (mostly) single mother who had a full-time job, having a structured life had saved her. And after the kids had left the nest she had kept sticking to the schedule and avoided any too spontaneous changes. She had felt comfortable that way. But then Rusty came into her life and now there was Andy too. Andy who liked to take her out whenever he feels like it, Andy who was responsible that she was late for a meeting last week because he had kissed her until anything else had disappeared from her mind. Andy was bringing chaos into her life and yet she couldn't remember ever being happier.

"Are you ever gonna tell us what's in the envelope?" Emily asked as she dropped down next to her mother. Her two brothers were still in the kitchen, decorating cookies and not paying any attention to them.

"No." The kids would find out eventually. However she didn't really want to talk about it right now as she herself didn't really know what all of this meant. What this gift meant and what it would do to her and Andy's realtionship.

"Mom, come on! You are all nervous about it, talking helps. You always say so yourself!"

Sharon smiled at her girl. She had flour in her hair, and yet she looked like an angel. Her precious little angel who had stopped being little a long time ago. "You are so beautiful." Sharon said as she tucked a strand of her daughter's dark hair behind her ear.

"Mom! Don't try to change the topic."

"I'm not. Just making an observation."

"You really like Andy, huh?" Emily knew the answer to this question. It was obvious. However, it was somewhat of a surprise to her that this new relationship of her mother was already at quite an advanced stage. This was far beyond having a crush, beyond going out twice a week. Her mom was in love. Completely and totally. Emily had never seen her like that, not even with her father.

Sharon thought about avoiding the question, thought about telling her that it was none of her business but truth was that it was Emily's business. Andy was about to become part of their family. He was going to spend Christmas with them and he would be around for other holidays too. This realtionship was new but it was as serious as it got.

Sharon shrugged sheepishly. "He makes me happy... He makes me laugh."

Emily smiled as she let her head fall onto her mom's shoulder. "I'm glad. You deserve it, mom. More than anyone I know."

"I love you my little bunny." Sharon said as she put her arm around her girl and pressed a kiss to her temple.

Emily giggled at the use of her old nick name which her mother had never quite managed to let go of. "Love you too."

"You gonna tell me whats in the envelope now?" The younger woman asked sweetly.

"Nice try, but no." Sharon didn't even know if she was actually going to give the tickets to Andy, if she'll even have the courage to. Their realtionship had only just started, they had agreed to move forward slowly, she had specifically asked him to. Were they ready for gifts like this one? Or was it too much too soon? Maybe she should just give him her back-up present. It would certainly be the safer choice. It had less meaning attached to it, it was less of a commitment, less dangerous.

 _TBC..._

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 **Thanks for reading! Isn't it kitschy? xD**

 **Will try to post part 2 asap :D In my head the story is already finished, just have to finish writing it down xD**

 **Have wonderful holidays :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for all your amazing reviews! You people are awesome! :D I finally finished the second part of this story. I know Christmas is technically already over but I have a really good excuse for being late: I'm lazy and can't manage my time xD Please forgive me.**

 **In this chapter you'll find out what the present is Andy got for Sharon and what the significance of the gift is that Sharon got for Andy. It's fluffy as hell and I loved writing it! Enjoy :D**

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Sharon was somewhat surprised how smoothly the Christmas dinner went. Not that she had expected it to go awry, however, she had not thought that everyone would feel so comfortable. After all this was the first real get-together with all her children and the new man in her life. She had feared that it would be awkward. Not necessarily for her but for the kids and maybe even for Andy. But there was not a single uncomfortable moment. It certainly helped that Ricky as well as Emily already knew Andy. He was not a stranger to them, not someone they had to get to know from scratch. They first had known him as her colleague, then as her friend and now they were getting to know him as her partner in life and they both were open and ready for that and Sharon couldn't be happier about it.

When Andy had arrived at the condo earlier it was Sharon opening the door for him. She had given him a key some time ago, before they even were an item, but he felt more comfortable ringing the doorbell today. A big smile appeared on his face the moment he saw her.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi yourself." She returned his smile. It was almost like the corners of her mouth automatically turned upwards whenever he looked at her like that, or more like whenever he looked at her in general.

"I'm a bit early, hope that's ok."

"It is." She assured. "Come in."

"In a minute." He took her hand and pulled her with him as he stepped away from the door, back into the hallway.

Once they both were outside the condo he closed the door behind them.

"Would you tell me what you are up to?" Sharon asked.

He just kept smiling at her as he bent down and captured her lips in a soft kiss.

"Kissing my girlfriend." He whispered. "Away from any judging eyes. Its enough that we damaged Rusty for life. We don't need to break the other two as well."

Sharon laughed. "I appreciate your concern for my kids."

"And I really appreciate those jeans you are wearing." For a moment Andy's hands slid from her hips a little bit lower to a less innocent spot before they returned to the small of her back.

"I thought you would." She pulled him down by the lapel of his jacket to plant another short kiss on his mouth.

"It's gonna be great." She said once they broke apart. She knew that he was nervous about this evening. He had admitted so himself a few days ago and she could also feel his concern right now. She felt quite similar, even though most of her palpitation was caused by the fact that she still did not know which gift to give him.

"I know," he took her hand in his and their fingers entwined.

They had returned to the condo after that, earning a disgusted glance from Rusty and a knowing look from the other two. So much for not scaring them. Even when they don't see it they seem to just KNOW.

After they got the greetings out of the way they had dinner and then moved to the living room.

"You are an angel hoarder." Andy said as he looked at the enormous Christmas tree which had at least three dozen angels in various forms attached to it.

Sharon playfully slapped his shoulder.

"Don't you know Andy? One can never have too many angels." Rusty said with a grin, repeating what Sharon had told him several years ago on their very first Christmas together.

"That is correct." She said as she and Emily started to light some candles that wete scattered all over the room.

"Mom and the angels are a packaged deal." Ricky informed the older man.

"I guess I can live with a hundred Angels on my Christmas tree as long as they come attached to your mother." He had come to that conclusion long before they had started their realtionship: as long as Sharon was with him he could deal with pretty much anything else.

Sharon looked at him from across the room, her eyes sparkling. If they were alone she would have kissed him, long and deep. But since they weren't a smile would have to do.

"Mom you never told us how romantic he is." Emily teased.

"Well he is a man of many talents." Sharon was well aware that her answer gave the kids the opportunity to tease her even further but she didn't really mind, she liked their easy banter.

"Would you like to elaborate that?" The younger woman asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Please don't." Rusty was not as allergic to public displays of affection anymore as he used to be but he still appreciated it when they kept it at a minimum and when they did NOT talk about it.

"You are such a prude Rusty." Emily laughed.

"Call it what you want but I don't wanna know what these two do when we are not around."

"Okay, enough kids!" Sharon decided that it was time to put an end to it. This had the potential to get embarrassing for everyone.

Sharon dropped down on the couch next to Andy while the kids decided to sit on the floor. It was time for the yearly ceremony of reading the gospel about the birth of Jesus.

Andy had heard the gospel countless times already but this was the first time he actually paid attention. He listened to every word that left her lips with great interest and studied her facial expression.

Afterwards they sang. First "Silent Night" then "Joy to the World" and finally "Go Tell It On The Mountain".

Sharon was completely carefree while singing. She was smiling, happy about how well the evening was going and thankful to be surrounded by the people she loved the most.

When it was time to open the presents the nervousness came back in full force for Sharon as well as for Andy. They made a silent agreement to wait before exchanging their gifts. They would let the kids go first.

No matter how old her babies got they were always excited to unwrap their Christmas presents. In that moment they all were six again. Sharon loved it.

They both watched the three kids from the couch. Ricky was ripping open the wrapping paper while Rusty was much more careful and Emily even tried not to tear it at all and instead cautiously removed the scotch tape.

They were all so different, her three children. Yet they were all perfect. She was so proud of them and of who they had become.

"Aren't you two gonna exchange gifts?" Emily asked some time later after they had finished unwrapping presents and thanking their mother for the gifts. Sharon always absolutely nailed it when it came to presents. She knew her kids better than the back of her hand. She knew what they liked and needed, even when they weren't around all that much anymore. But she was their mom, she'd always know.

"We will." Sharon assured the nosy girl. "In a moment."

Earlier Andy had asked the kids if they could get Sharon's present from his car and store it in Rusty's room as he did not want to put it under the tree. It was too big for that anyway.

He hoped that later, he and Sharon would be able to go to Rusty's room by themselves. Just the two of them. With the children present she would feel forced to react in a certain way. She would not reject the gift if it felt like it was too much. She would pretend to be happy about it even when she actually felt overwhelmed and blindsided. He didn't want to put that kind of pressure on her.

While her children had sneaked the gift into Rusty's room Andy was trying to distract Sharon. It was quite a challenge to do it all behind her back as it was almost impossible to keep things from her. No matter how small. She usually knew all about it. She was so very attentive. Sometimes it almost felt like she had an extra set of eyes and ears

He still didn't know if Sharon really hadn't noticed anything or if she was just pretending she didn't. But in the end it didn't matter. She had not tried to check what the children were carrying around so secretly. If she knew they were up to something she had decided to let them all get away with it.

"Would you come with me for a second?" Andy asked her after Emily had turned away from them.

"Where to?"

"I want to give you your gift." He sounded far more confident than he felt. In fact he was sure that his his knees were shaking while also his heartbeat had sped up significantly.

"Ok." She took the hand he had offered her and followed him in direction of the bedrooms. In her other hand she tightly held the envelope. His envelope. She had decided to give it to him after all.

This evening had gone so much better than she ever had dared to imagine. He had charmed everyone. Her as well as her kids. He had made them all laugh with his stories about the absurd situations he and Provenza keep running into and he had been completely honest about his past and about his addiction. If at all possible she had fallen for him even more this evening. And maybe, she thought, it was time to stop being a chicken. Maybe this present she wanted to give him was the perfect way to show him how committed she was and how important he was to her. Maybe it was not too early, maybe this was the perfect time.

"Andy?" Sharon asked visibly confused as he reached for the door handle to Rusty's room.

"I stored it in there, so you wouldn't immediately see it. With Rusty's permission of course."

Sharon nodded, understanding now and let him lead the way into the realm of her youngest.

She gasped when she saw it and Andy was not entirely sure if this was a good or a bad thing. At first he thought she was positively surprised but when she didn't say anything he started to worry.

Maybe this gift was too much after all. He should not have given it to her, he should have settled for something simpler, something less meaningful.

"Listen," he said. "If this is too much then I get it. There is no pressure from me, Sharon. If you don't want it I'll get rid of it. I can ..." he was cut off mid-sentence:

"No." She swallowed the lump in her throat before she turned to face him. There were tears glistening in her eyes. "It's perfect Andy."

"It is?" He was still doubtful, still tentative.

"It looks just like hers." A smile was lighting up her face now as a tear fell and rolled down her cheek.

"I tried to describe it to the carpenter the best I could."

"You are crazy." She got up on her tip toes, clasped her hands around his neck and gently pressed her lips against his.

"Crazy about you, yes absolutely." He said when they broke apart. He then gestured at the gift and said. "Come on! Go sit in it."

Sharon approached the object with great caution. She touched the armrest and let her hand glide over it. It was remarkable how much it looked like her grandma's. Of course it wasn't an exact copy but it came pretty close.

Sharon carefully sat down into the chair and rocked back and forth a few times. It instantly calmed her down, just as it had when she was a kid and just like it had calmed her own kids when they were little.

27 years ago, when Emily was born, her grandmother had given Sharon a rockig chair. It had been the very same chair the older woman had used to rock her children and grandchildren to sleep in. Sharon had always loved that chair, even back when she was still a child herself.

When her grandma had gifted it to her Sharon had cried, touched by the gesture and still emotional from all the hormones shooting through her body so soon after giving birth. She used to nurse Emily and Ricky in the chair and whenever they had trouble falling asleep she rocked them until they would. The chair had been one of Sharon's most treasured possessions. And despite knowing that Jack had one day gone and sold it. At that point he was so desperate he had even sold toys from the kids for an laughable amount of money to keep financing his addictions. Sharon had put an end to it as soon as she noticed and once she found out he had gambled away their house and all their savings, she had field for separation. It had been a dreadful time but she had rolled up her sleeves and fought through it. For the kids and for herself.

She and Andy had talked about this difficult time about 3months ago. She had told him about the rocking chair and how sad she still was that Jack had trashed it. That's how he had gotten the idea for this present. He had called a carpenter the next day and given him the task to build her a new rocking chair. And despite having had many, many doubts and fears Andy was very glad now that he had decided to give it to her.

"And? Comfortable?" He asked after giving her a few moments to process.

She looked up at him, her smile even bigger now then earlier. Her eyes still misty. "Perfect." She said.

"I was kinda nervous to give it to you. I thought it might be too much too soon." He admitted, obviously relieved now.

Sharon chuckled as she got up from the chair again and approached Andy. "My present for you had me worrying about the exact same thing."

He was only realizing now that she was holding an envelope in her hand. He had been so busy worrying about her reaction that he had barley noticed anything else.

Sharon looked him in the eyes as she handed him the red envelope. "Merry Christmas, Andy."

He took the present but instead of opening it right away he just kept looking at her, asking himself what he had done to deserve this, to deserve her.

"Open it." She whispered after a few moments of comfortable silence which they had spent looking at each other. It was a thing they did sometimes. They got lost in each others eyes, in each others face and smiles...

"Right." He said removing his gaze from hers, realizing that he had gotten distracted by her mere existence yet again.

He opened the envelope with much more patience than he actually felt. Before removing whatever was inside he looked at her again, seeking permission. Of course he knew he already had it but he liked to ask her anyway. He wanted to be a100% sure that it really was what she wanted, that she had no doubts. He always did that, no matter how obvious her approval was. For him it was a matter of respect and appreciation. It was one of the things Sharon valued most about him.

She nodded and so he went ahead. He pulled out the content and for a moment he was confused, not realizing what he was looking at.

"I think it's time you went back there and re-lived some of those memories you told me about." Her smile was almost shy.

"Sharon..." He was literally speechless. This he had not expected. Not at all. Everything but this.

"I already made sure we have the time off. But if the date doesn't work for you we can postpone. It wont be easy to arrange but we'll make it work."

"Sharon." He said again, still quite overcome by surprise and various other emotions. "This is... " He broke off mid-sentence, unable to put his joy into proper words.

"I hope you don't feel blindsided." Sharon still seemed to doubt her gift. "I thought about discussing it with you prior to buying the tickets but then it wouldn't have been much of a surprise anymore."

"No!" He immediately said. "God no! I'm feeling far from blindsided! I sure am surprised but damn, this is probably the best gift I ever got."

"Yeah?"

"Absolutely." He confirmed as he took her arm and pulled her into him.

"You are wonderful." He whispered as he hugged her tightly.

A soft, warm feeling spread in her chest. She hugged him back, her grip tight. "You are quite wonderful yourself."

His lips started to place soft kisses on her cheek, moving in direction of her mouth. When he finally reached her lips she immediately responded to his ministrations. Her hands went to his neck and played with the hair there.

A loud, indignant voice interrupted them. "God! Really?! I specifically told you no making out in my room!"

"Sorry Rusty." Andy said, the big grin on his face revealing how not sorry at all he was.

"How hard can it be to keep your hands to yourself for 5 minutes?"

"You don't want me to answer that." Andy was tempted to give Sharon a quick peck on the lips just to tease the boy even further but decided they had tortured him enough for today.

Rusty groaned as he rolled his eyes. While he was kinda annoyed by most of their displays of affection, he was mainly happy for them. Especially for Sharon. She deserved this. She deserved to be in a loving relationship. So much. She deserved to be pampered. He was glad Andy saw it that way too. That man happily worshiped the ground she was walking on. He hadn't seen either of them ever being happier. "Em and Ricky have the punch ready and wanna start the movie." Rusty informed.

"We'll be in the living room in a second." Sharon assured.

He sent them a warning glare before disappearing again.

After the boy left they both laughed.

"He'll eventually get used to us being 'disgusting old love birds'" Andy said, repeating what Rusty had called them just a few days ago.

"Well, he'll have to cause I don't intend on sending you away anytime soon." Her hands resumed the spot behind his neck once more.

"Glad to hear that." He pressed another short kiss to her lips.

"So we are really going to Italy, hu?" Andy said after a moment. He still had not quiet realized that this trip was really happening.

He had wanted to return to Italy ever since he had visited his great aunt in Amalfi as a child. But somehow he had never found the time to go there again. His aunt had died the summer after his stay so he had no real reason to go back. But he had thought about visiting again often. His mother had grown up there and so had his grandparents, his roots were there.

"We are." She confirmed happily.

"You are the clear winner of the gift-giving-contest." He decided.

"Well I don't know about that but I know I'm certainly the winner of receiving-the-best gift-contest."

This time it was her initiating the kiss. They had already forgotten about Rusty's no-makeout-rule.

As they broke apart she leaned her forehead against his cheek and hummed that content low hum of hers which drove him crazy.

"Can you help me get the rocking chair into the living room?" she asked. She wanted to curl up in the chair when watching the Christmas movie with him and the kids.

"Absolutely." He pressed a kiss to her temple and went to grab the chair.

She held the door open for him and followed him down the corridor into the living room.

Emily, Ricky and Rusty were already sitting on the couch, huddled up in several blankets ready to start the movie.

Andy put the rocking chair right next to the couch. He knew Sharon wanted to be close to the kids. They would leave again soon and she should enjoy the time with them here to the fullest.

He himself dropped down on the recliner next to Sharon's chair. He wouldn't have a good view of the TV sitting like that but didn't really care as long as he was close to her.

She put her hand on the armrest of the recliner, prompting Andy to take it. He didn't need to be told twice and embraced her fingers with his. They both didn't have to look at Rusty to know that he was rolling his eyes at them for their "embarrassing" hand-holding.

Sharon chuckled to herself. She couldn't remember ever having had a more wonderful Christmas.

 **\- The End -**

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 **Thanks a lot for reading everyone! Feel free to tell me what you thought about it. If you have story prompts you can always message me :)**


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